The Sound of Bells
by Lupa Eira
Summary: Katie Bell and Dudley Dursley? No, it must be impossible. But no one knows what really happened in that six-month gap when Katie was in St. Mungo's, and it'll take more than a dementor attack to cause Dudley to change up to the point where he's nice to Harry. Full summary inside. Title subject to change. ON HIATUS.
1. Chapter 1

**Hey guys! Lupa Eira here. **

**So, this is the summary of the story posted here (er, the story going to be posted here, since it's not entirely finished yet). **

**Basically, I saw something once about someone who shipped Katie Bell and Dudley Dursley. At the time I scoffed and dismissed it since it seemed ridiculous. Then, weeks and weeks later, I started thinking: what caused the change in Dudley's behavior towards Harry at the beginning of HP 7? Obviously he's undergone a pretty significant personality change, partially due to the dementor attack in HP 5, but that can't be the only reason. As for Katie, what exactly happened to her in that six month gap while she was at St. Mungo's? **

**Needless to say, the wheels of my head started rapidly turning, and this is the story I came up with. If you don't like the ship, get out now. If not, click on the "Next" button for the chapters to begin.**

**Enjoy, rate, and review! **


	2. The Meeting

**If you're here, that probably means you've (hopefully) read the author's note and have decided to check out the story. Welcome and glad to have you on board! Enjoy, rate and review! Criticism is very much welcome, so if you have any suggestions, feel free to tell me!**

The Meeting

Katie sat up (not without difficulty, since she was essentially in pain every second of every day, though it was far better than it used to be) in her hospital bed on the fourth floor of St. Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries, utterly and totally bored. Sure, that cursed necklace had put her in so much pain that she had been in a coma for two and a half months, but now that the pain was much less—meaning that instead of feeling like someone was stabbing her all over her body with flaming daggers, it was more like someone was sticking her with flaming needles—she was awake, drank a considerable number of potions she could barely identify each day, and was totally, completely, going-out-of-her-mind bored. Of course she was grateful to the Healers and their attendants for having saved her life, but there just wasn't anything to _do _in the hospital. She would have given anything to even get up out of bed for a moment and walk around, though flying would have naturally been preferred, than just sit here doing nothing. Even Potions class or Astronomy or Arithmancy would have been a great substitute. She turned to her ward-mate, a woman who simply lay there staring at the ceiling all day, unmoving (evidently the effect of a Full-Body Bind gone wrong, the Healers had told her).

"You're probably just as bored as I am," Katie said glumly. Unfortunately, the woman didn't answer. Katie's only relief from the monotonous routine came from letters her friends sent her and when her parents visited in the evenings after their work was finished. Unfortunately, their visit was still hours away, and she had already received her mail and had the hospital staff write replies for her (if she tried to hold a quill, the pain increased in her hand until it became unbearable), and Katie had reread her friend's letters so many times she knew them by heart.

_I'm a Quidditch player and a seventh-year_, Katie thought furiously. _I can't just sit around and do nothing_.

And that was when The Idea occurred.

She looked around the room to see if she had what she needed. Muggle clothes: check. Gryffindor attitude for enduring pain: check. Wand: no check, but that was okay, she didn't think she needed it. Unlocked door: check, since no one actually believed she'd be able to walk. Lack of any Healer coming in to check up on her for at least an hour: check.

Well then. It seemed nothing was actually keeping her here.

Katie quickly (though painfully) got dressed into her Muggle clothing, took a deep breath (which unfortunately had the effect of causing her throat and lungs to feel like someone had taken flames to them) and simply walked out the door. It didn't take very long to get down to the ground floor (her floor, Spell Damage, was the fourth), though admittedly the pain was making it difficult to walk easily. Katie just gritted her teeth and bore it—she was a Gryffindor, she kept repeating to herself. _Bravery requires sacrifice,_ her mother, also a former Gryffindor had once told her.

No one paid her any mind as she walked out the door. Katie couldn't help but smirk—the Healers at St. Mungo's expected Apparition or escape by magical means from overage witches and wizards such as herself, but unfortunately for them, Katie had a Muggle father and wasn't so wired for magic that she forgot about simpler solutions.

The cold December air hit her lungs so forcefully she almost shrieked, but it was truly wonderful to be outside in the fresh air. If she had been back at school and playing a Quidditch match, conditions like this would have thrilled her—light layer of snowfall on the ground, a slight wind, the air crisp and clear—days like these made her feel alive.

Unfortunately, she ran out of breath far quicker than she expected, and had to go sit down at a park bench. _Just for a little bit_, Katie growled at herself. For five or ten minutes, she watched the passerby, relishing in the cold, fresh air. She watched men and women with dogs, little children with their parents, teenagers in groups—one such group was right across from her at the park. More than anything, she wished she had a broom, so that she could really enjoy being free from that stupid hospital, but that wasn't possible.

_All right, time to get up_, Katie told herself, checking her watch. She wanted plenty of time to get back to St. Mungo's before any of the Healers missed her.

When she tried to stand, a fresh wave of pain shot through her legs and chest, so strong she fell.

"Katie, you stupid," she growled at herself, nearly in tears from her frustration. She _hated_ being sick. Getting up, it seemed, would be even harder. Katie ground her teeth, preparing herself to get up—she had to get back to the hospital—she was a _Gryffindor_—

It turned out to be totally unnecessary as a pair of hands helped her up. Looking up, Katie was amazed to see one of the teens from the group across the park she had been watching a moment ago.

"Are you all right?" he asked uncertainly. Katie barely kept herself from gaping—the kid was _huge_. _If a broom could hold his weight, he'd make the team as a Beater without even having to try out_, Katie thought, not sure whether to be amazed or disgusted. Then she remembered that he'd asked her a question.

"I just slipped, that's all," she said. What else was she supposed to say? _Oh yes, I'm fine—I just wanted to get out of a magical hospital for a little while even though I'm in constant pain! _

"Really?" the kid said. "Looked more like you'd collapsed."

"Honestly, I'm perfectly fine," Katie said, taking a few steps forward as she said so to prove her point and swearing vehemently when her right leg gave out in a sudden burst of flames and needles from her foot to her knee. Looking slightly bemused, the stranger helped her to her feet—again—and looked at Katie in a concerned way.

"That definitely wasn't a slip," he said with a slight laugh. "Maybe I should help you, wherever you're going."

"Don't you have places to be?" Katie hadn't meant for it to sound so snappish, but apparently the kid realized she wasn't trying to offend him.

"Not really. Me and my friends came to London because school's out for the weekend, and they've already left, so honest I've got nothing to do right now." Katie's mind started racing—she couldn't take this guy back to St. Mungo's; he was clearly a Muggle.

"Well, thanks," Katie said, taking a few tentative steps forward. "I'll just need to call a cab, though, so you'll only be helping me to the street."

"Sounds convenient," the guy said, helping her towards the street.

"Katie!" a voice called down the block, one she knew very well.

"Damn," Katie muttered, then turned and smiled her best I'm-your-little-princess smile. "Hi Daddy! What are you doing here?" Her father jogged towards her, looking thunderous.

"What on Earth are you doing out of the hospital?" he yelled, looking very worried. "I got out of work early to see you, and then when I get there you're missing! What were you thinking?"

"Fresh air," Katie said sardonically. "It's nice after three months."

"And who's this?" her father said, pointing to the kid holding onto Katie's arm.

"My new boyfriend, don't you like him?" she spit sarcastically.

"Katie—" her father said in a warning tone.

"She collapsed, uh, sir," the kid stammered. "I was helping her walk back since she didn't look like she could make it on her own." Her father's gaze softened.

"Well, thank you, young man. What's your name?"

"D," the kid replied.

"D? That's kind of short," Katie commented.

"You'd go by D too if your parents named you Dudley," the boy laughed in a nervous, embarrassed sort of way.

"Well then, D," Katie's father said brusquely. "Thank you for your help. I'll take it from here." The kid, looking alarmed at her father's police attire, quickly released Katie's arm (which he had been holding onto in an attempt to support her), quickly muttered a goodbye and left walking down the street.

Katie didn't think any more about the boy for the rest of the day, mostly since she was getting her ears totally deafened between the screaming of her mother and the scolding of the Healers, but Dudley certainly thought about her, wondering with a frown what hospital she must have come from and why she had been in one for three months. Neither had a clue what lay in store for them.

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**Well? Ideas? Criticism? Praise? Encouragement? Just a few comments? I'd like to hear it all. So please review!**


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